My Property
by fulofhyperness
Summary: Everyone in town hates the old man that yells at anything that moves to get off his property. What happens when his attractive, college-bound grandson comes to live with him? AU, college fic. boyxboy, don't like? don't read!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything remotely close to the concept of Naruto.**

**Why, hello there peoples! I am back with a new randomly developed story inspired by both my mother and my grouchy neighbor. Oh, and a new development, I have figured out why I write such short chapters! The first chapter is always under 400 words because it forces my brain to kick start the plot and write!**

**I hope you enjoy it~!**

A young man, 18 years old with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail walked down the halls of the University he had just begun attending. A piece of paper in his hand told him what classroom to enter, now if he could just figure out how to find that classroom! Finally, he found the room for Calculus II and swung a left to enter and take an empty seat near the back where he could doze off unperturbed.

"God, that creepy old man yelled at a few of us again today!" said a troublesome girl sitting in front of the young man.

"Wait, you mean he isn't dead yet? Isn't he like, 100 years old? You would think that if no one likes you, you would have the decency to die." said another annoying girl.

"I know, right? God, I doubt he _has_ any decency!" the first girl giggled back.

'Who the hell are they talking about?' the young man wondered to himself. 'God, I wish they would shut up. So troublesome.' he internally sighed. With that, he laid his head down for what he thought to be a well deserved nap.

When the young man awoke, his class was over, so he made his way back to his dorm.

"Hey! Shikamaru! How was your first class? Oh, wait, let me guess….troublesome?" his roommate, Choji Akimichi laughed.

Shikamaru Nara looked over at his roommate, "Oh come on, I don't say it _that_ much, do I?" He thought for a moment, "Ok, maybe I do…"

Choji just laughed at his best friend. "Dude, why is everything so troublesome? There has to be a reason you're the only freshman in Calculus II! Things come so easy for you, stop freaking complaining!" he said, ending on a rare serious note.

"I don't know Cho, I guess I just don't feel like exerting more energy than necessary…" Shikamaru confessed.

"Man, whatever." Choji said as he turned back to struggle with is remedial math homework.

"Why is this dorm so small?" Shikamaru said, desperate for a change in subject. "Next year, we need to get an apartment instead."

"Ok, Shika" Choji laughed, "whatever you say."

**So,this was the introductory chapter showing a couple characters. I have a tendency to skimp on the descriptions of characters, if I even give one at all, but you all know what these people look like, right? If not, why are you reading this again? hahaha, no but seriously, I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter, and I look forward to reading reviews (winkwink)!**

**Who knows when this will get updated? It will be whenever my muse hits me! Until next time, I love you all! ~fulofhyperness  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**I hope you enjoy it~!**

_ONE YEAR LATER_

Shikamaru and Choji settled into their new apartment a block and a half away from campus. "Man, this is so much better than that stuffy old dorm!" Shikamaru commented.

"Yeah, but now we have to live across the street from that old man!" Choji said, slightly disgruntled.

"Wait, he's still there? Damn."

"Yeah, we'll live though, right?"

"Let's hope. I've got to get to class. Later Cho!"

"Later Shika!"

Shikamaru walked out of the apartment building and began heading towards campus.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU ALL TO GET OFF MY GODDAMN PROPERTY!"

Shikamaru snapped his head to the sound. That old man was yelling at a couple of freshman girls walking on the sidewalk in front of his house. "How troublesome." he muttered under his breath as he crossed the street. "Girls, it's a better idea to walk on the other side of the street." he told them once he had crossed.

A girl with a blonde ponytail and bright blue eyes looked up at him, "Yeah, we kinda figured that out."

Shikamaru glanced at the old man. "Sorry Sir, they're new here!" he yelled across the yard. He escorted the two girls across the street and onto campus.

"So, what's your name?" the blonde giggled.

"Shikamaru." the girls' hero replied. "And yours?"

The blonde's eyes lit up at his interest, "I'm Ino, and this billboard brow is my good friend Sakura." The pinkette next to Ino waved. "We're freshman and were just trying to explore the town before class a bit. You know, seeing where there is good shopping, where to get coffee, the basics."

Shikamaru glanced down at her. "If you want to go shopping, your best bet would be to drive down to the city, it's only 20 minutes away. As for coffee, the shop on campus is the best you'll find around here." he said. "I've got to get to class, maybe I'll talk to you later!" He dashed off towards the mathematics department and entered his advanced maths class.

"Alright class, I have your syllabuses here. Take note of test dates and the dates of when your service hours are due." the Teacher said, handing out pieces of paper.

"Um, service hours?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Yes, I want you all to go down and volunteer down in the tutoring department. There are several people who struggle with math, and as mathematics majors, you are prime for tutors. I think it's a good way to meet people and learn to appreciate just how much of this comes easily to you all." the teacher explained.

'How troublesome.' Shikamaru thought as he stared down at his syllabus. '9 service hours a month? This is going to be such a drag.'

* * *

><p>Later that day, Shikamaru made his way down to the tutoring department. 'Well, I might as well find out who my assignment is.'<p>

"Hi, my name is Shikamaru Nara. I'm here to volunteer as a math tutor." he told the lady behind the desk.

"Are you here for the program from advance maths?" she asked him.

"Yeah."

"Well, ok, Shikamaru, right? Here is your student." She handed him a paper.

Name: Naruto Uzumaki

Class: Freshman

Current Math Class: Beginner's Algebra

Current Math Grade: D-

'Wow, this is going to suck.' He thought to himself as he scanned the page. 'Well, I might as well give him a call to see when he wants to meet.'

Shikamaru walked out of the department and flipped open his phone, dialing the number on the paper. The phone kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing, until finally, "Hi, you've reached Naruto! I can't answer the phone right now, so please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! *beep*"

'Damn' he thought. "Uh, hi. My name is Shikamaru Nara. I'm going to be your math tutor. I was just wondering what time you wanted to meet up. Give me a call back when you can." Shikamaru shut the phone and deposited it in his pocket as he slowly made his way back to his apartment, being sure to stay clear of the old man's property.

**So, there' s chapter 2! I know, before anyone could even read the first one! Oh well, I couldn't sleep. I didn't even map this one out, I just kind of let it come out. I like where it's going though! Please give me reviews! They help me breathe! They give me inner strength!**

**~fulofhyperness**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, otherwise Naruto and Shikamaru would be together forever!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Dude, I can't believe your grandpa won't let me stay here too!" a young brunette man yelled as he appreciatively glanced around the huge house. The man had deep brown eyes and strange red triangular tattoos that ran down his cheeks.

"I know Kiba, it sucks that you have to live in the dorms, but you can always come over! Of course, all parties will have to be at your dorm, I don't know how well Grandpa would take it!" Naurto laughed.

Kiba ran back out to the truck. "I think that was the last box!" He glanced around. "Yeah, the rest of these are mine!"

Naruto ran over to join Kiba and looked around. "I think you're right. But, hey, it's not like if we got mixed up I can't just come over and switch stuff!" he laughed.

"True, true. You coming over to help me unpack?" Kiba asked his best friend.

"Yeah, I think so. Let me just go say 'Hi' to Grandpa." Naruto replied. He dashed inside the house, went around the staircase to the room down the hall and knocked on the door.

"Come in." yelled a gruff voice.

Naruto walked through the door to find his grandfather, a man about 65 with long white hair that was kept in a low ponytail, lying in bed with his Icha Icha book. "Hey Gramps, I'm going to campus to help Kiba unpack! Later!" He ran out the door and hopped in Kiba's truck as they made their way to campus.

They pulled up to the dorm parking, and Kiba pulled in a spot. Naruto followed his friend into the main building to pick up his keys. The two friends went back to the truck and started unloading boxes. Opening the door, Kiba found another young man already there! "Hey, you must be my roommate! My name's Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my best friend Naruto Uzumaki!" Kiba said shaking the young man's hands.

The roommate in question had dark brown hair held in a faux-afro, and wore sunglasses, even though he was inside. "Hi, I'm Shino Aburame." he responded, taking Kiba's hand gently. "It is nice to meet you both."

All of a sudden Naruto jumped. "Dude, what's wrong?" Kiba asked, concern laced in his voice.

Naruto scrambled, putting is hand into his pocket and extracting his phone. "I always forget how strong the vibrate setting is on this fucker!" he yelled, tapping the screen to see who called. "I'm going to go listen to this message, meet you at the truck!" he said, exiting the room and making is way out of the dorm building.

Naruto dialed his voicemail and punched in the code. A tired voice filled his ear. _"Uh, hi. My name is Shikamaru Nara. I'm going to be your math tutor. I was just wondering what time you wanted to meet up. Give me a call back when you can." _

'Tutor?' he thought. 'I didn't sign up for a tutor!'

"NARUTO!" Kiba was running down the hill towards his friend. "Dude, Shino just told me that classes started yesterday!" he yelled, panic streaking across his face.

"Oh shit! We must have gotten the date wrong!" Naruto said. "That must be why they signed me up for a tutor…"

"What tutor?" Kiba asked. Naruto handed him the phone and clicked a button to replay the message. "Wow dude, that kinda sucks. Hope he's at least nice!"

"Yeah me to." Naruto said as they began to unload the rest of the boxes from Kiba's truck. Once Kiba was all moved in, he drove Naruto back to his house, said his goodbyes and went back to the dorms.

Naruto walked up to the front door and pushed it open. "Naruto!" a gruff voice called from the kitchen. "Glad you're back! What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know Gramps, I have a phone call to make, I'll be back down in a bit!" he called as he ran up the steps to his room.

He tapped the screen to unlock it, looked in his missed calls, and redialed the number his new tutor had called from. It rang a few times before the same tired voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Shikamaru, right?"

"Yeah. Who is this?"

"My name is Naruto! You called about being my tutor?"

"Oh yeah. What's the best time for us to meet? I think we should meet and I'll give you a pre-test of sorts to figure out what you need to work on."

"Um, whenever is fine with me. I'm done with classes by 2:00 every day."

"Ok, how about tomorrow? 3:00? We can meet at your place."

"Sounds good!"

"Where do you live?"

"You know those apartments a lot of students live in? Right across the street is a big house! You can't miss it!"

"Alright, see you then."

Shikamaru hit the end button on his phone. 'Shit. The kid live with the old man.' he internally sighed. 'How troublesome.'

**There it is, Chapter 3! I hope you're enjoying it, and I hope it's not developing too slowly. If that's how you feel, then suck it up! hahahaha. I love reviews, so please, send some my way!**

**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

**speedykatze**

**gaudy**

**Kage-Shi-Neko**

**xdevil-childx**

**Chu 545**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…..goddamnit…..**

**Enjoy~!**

Shikamaru walked out the front of the apartment building, and glanced across the street. 'Damn, that old man is on his porch again.' he internally cringed. 'Here goes nothing!' He boldly crossed the street and made it to the sidewalk outside the house. He took a deep breath and took his first step onto the walkway the led up to the house.

"GET OFF MY GODDAMN PROPERTY!" screamed the grumpy old man.

Shikamaru cringed and looked up attempting to defend himself when he froze, spotting a young blonde man walking out of the house. He was the most beautiful thing Shikamaru had ever seen. He had sun-kissed tan skin, and spiky blonde hair. There were three whisker like scars across each cheek under the most magnificent blue eyes. They were the kind of eyes that would make even Shikamaru want to do anything for the young man. "You must be Shikamaru." the angel spoke to him. 'Wait, is _this_ Naruto? God, he's beautiful!'

"I don't care who you are, you need to get the hell off my property." Jiraiya gumbled.

"Hush Gramps, he's going to be my math tutor!" the angel said, slapping the old man on the shoulder.

"Two days into school and you already need a tutor?" the old man laughed.

"Shut up!" An adorable pout came over the angel's face. His face when back to normal as his grandfather laughed. He made is way over to Shikamaru, shoving his hand out. "Hi, I'm Naruto! And that old grump over there is my grandfather, Jiraiya."

Shikamaru took Naruto's hand, "It's nice to meet you both." He found himself not able to look away from Naruto's eyes. Naruto dragged Shikamaru into the house, not letting go of his hand, and let him up the stairs. "This is where I stay." He pointed to a door, "That's my room." He pointed at another door next to his bedroom. "And that used to be a spare bedroom, but I converted it into a TV/Study/Game room. Will that be ok for tutoring?" he asked, turning back to Shikamaru and cocking his head to the side.

"Yeah, that will be perfect." Shikamaru said. Naruto led him into the study and they sat at a huge desk in the back of the room. Shikamaru opened his backpack and took out a couple pieces of paper. "Ok, like I said on the phone," his voice much less distracted now that he wasn't looking at Naruto, "I want to give you a pretest to see what areas you will need help on." He handed over the papers.

Naruto took them and began looking them over. He pulled out a calculator and a pencil and got to work. Shikamaru waited patiently and took a look around the large room. There was a large TV and state-of-the-art gaming systems. A very nice laptop sat on the floor next to a very comfortable looking chair, and a plushy couch sat along the wall. All in all, a very nice room, except that the walls were painted the most ridiculous shade of orange.

"I'm done!" Naruto said, not even 5 minutes later.

"Wow, really? That was fast." Shikamaru said, very surprised.

"Yeah, I'm really not that bad at math, I just don't like it!" he replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Geez, then why does it say you already have a D-?" he asked.

"Well, you see, my best friend Kiba and I got the start days wrong and missed the first day of school, so I wasn't there to get the participation points from the pre-test!" Naruto explained. A beep came from Naruto's phone signaling a text message.

_From: Kiba_

_Dude, got tickets to a My Chemical Romance concert in town! Got 3 extras, anyone you want to invite? _

Naruto looked up from his phone, "Hey, Shika, do you like My Chemical Romance?"

'Shika?' Shikamaru thought, "Uh, yeah, they're ok, why?"

"We got tickets to their concert in town tomorrow, do you want to go?"

"Eh, why not? Sounds like fun!"

"Awesome! I have you're number, I'll text you the details later!"

"Sounds good Naruto. I'm going to go home and grade this pre-test. Talk to you later!" He said as he made his way down the stairs and out the front door.

Naruto watched him leave as he opened his contacts to invite a couple more people, then finally tapping out a response to Kiba with the three names.

Shikamaru crossed the street, made his way into the building, and got to his apartment. He slammed the door and sunk to the floor, sighing.

"Sounds like tutoring was rough." Shikamaru hadn't even noticed Choji was home.

Shikamaru picked himself up and made his way to the table where he pulled out Naruto's pre-test and began to grade it. "Wow, he only missed two!"

"Looks like your service hours are going to be really easy!" Choji laughed.

"Eh, I don't know about that!" Shikamaru said, as Naruto's beautiful face came back into his mind. Shikamaru had never thought of himself as gay, he just knew that girls were too troublesome for the effort they brought. But now, he was almost certain. He looked up at Choji's confused face. "Hey Cho, I think I might be gay."

Choji stared at his best friend, "I know."

Shikamaru snapped his head back up. "What?"

"Well, you've never liked girls. Even when they throw themselves at you! I guess I just assumed." Choji said.

"I guess I just never thought about it." Shikamaru laughed in response. "He invited me to a concert tomorrow."

Choji smirked, "You like this kid, don't you."

"I don't really know Choji, I just don't know." Shikamaru shook his head.

"So, are you going? I know you usually say concerts are too troublesome."

"Normally, yes they are, but I'm going."

Choji smirked again. 'This is going to be fun!'

**Hooray! Another chapter down! But who knows how many lie ahead? (besides the plot bunnies of course)**

**Please review!**

**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

**speedykatze**

**gaudy**

**Kage-Shi-Neko**

**xdevil-childx**

**Chu 545**

**MoonWingsYuki**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I hate you Masashi Kishimoto! Why can't I own Naruto?**

***sigh* Enjoy~!**

_From: Naruto_

_Ok, we're meeting in the quad at 7:00, and we're hitting Court Avenue in town for dinner before the concert at 9:00. See you then!_

Shikamaru had been staring at that text message since he received it yesterday. It was about 5:00 and he was already set to go. Since the discovery that he may be attracted to Naruto, he's been nervous about seeing him again. Choji had to talk him out of sending a text telling Naruto he couldn't go. He decided to go watch some TV before they met up. He turned it on, but couldn't stop staring at his phone. He had a sinking feeling that Naruto was going to contact him saying he found someone better to go with. 6:45 finally rolled around and Shikamaru grabbed his keys and wallet and started the trek to campus.

He walked up to the quad to find Naruto with a group of people he didn't know. "Hey Naruto." he said, catching Naruto's attention.

Naruto turned around. "Hey Shika!" he said excitedly. Taking Shikamaru's hand he led him to the circle. "Everyone! This is my friend Shikamaru! He will be joining us!" Naruto pointed at a brunette. "This is my best friend Kiba Inuzuka. Next to him is his girlfriend Hinata Huuga." A young woman with lavender eyes waved at him. "That grump over there is my friend Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto pointed to a man with dark hair and eyes that just glared harshly at Shikamaru, staring at their adjoined hands. "We're still waiting for one more."

Just then, a redhead in a sexy red mustang drove up and got out. "Sorry I'm late." He had eyeliner all around his eyes, and had a dangerous aura around him. He walked up to Naruto and gave him a bear hug, causing the gorgeous blonde giggle. "Temari wanted my help with something."

Hugging the boy tightly, Naruto sighed, "It's ok, I know how she can be. This is Gaara Sabaku! And Gaara, that's my new friend Shikamaru!" he told the redhead while pointing at the brunette.

"Alright, we all know each other now, can we go? I'm starving!" Kiba complained.

Naruto laughed, "Yeah, let's go." Kiba and Hinata got in his truck, while the others got into Gaara's car. Naruto got in the back and beckoned Shikamaru to sit with him. Sasuke went to the other side and got in as well, forcing Naruto to sit in the middle.

"I guess no one wants to sit with me." Gaara laughed as he started the car and drove to the city. The two cars made it to Court Avenue, a street downtown that is full of restaurants. "Where are we eating?" Gaara asked, looking for a place to park.

"Um, I think Kiba said that Italian place at the corner." Naruto replied, feeling squished. Gaara pulled into a parking space on the street and the four boys got out. Naruto breathing heavily. "Sasuke, why did you feel the need to squish me?" he half-yelled, smacking Sasuke playfully on the shoulder.

"I just wanted to sit by you." Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Shikamaru.

"I was sitting by Shika so that he could sit next to someone he actually knows _Sasuke_, calm the fuck down!" Naruto snapped.

"Ok you two, stopped fighting for a bit, let's go eat, I see Kiba." said Gaara, wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulder and leading him to the restaurant. Shikamaru was in awe of Gaara's touchy-feely demeanor towards Naruto. 'Are, they together?' he wondered to himself, taking note of the adorable blush overtaking Naruto's face.

Sasuke was also taking note of this blush, and was glaring daggers at Gaara. 'I never liked that redhead!' he internally screamed. Sasuke had always had a crush on Naruto, ever since they were kids; but Naruto never even noticed, and it pissed the raven off! And now, there is another guy worming his way into Naruto's heart, soon there would be no room for him.

They met Kiba and Hinata at the door and made their way inside, getting a booth. Hinata and Kiba slid in first, and Shikamaru went in on the other side, followed by Naruto. Gaara and Sasuke glared at each other, when suddenly, Gaara jumped and took the seat next to Naruto, leaving Sasuke to sit next to Kiba.

An overenthusiastic waitress came over, and started taking orders. Naruto flashed her a big smile as he ordered causing her to blush and flirtatiously giggle. Shikamaru watched this. 'Wow. I can't believe I never took into consideration the fact that Naruto is probably straight! How troublesome!'

"Naruto, why do you have to flirt with them all?" Kiba laughed. "You know they want you! Why even give them hope when you know they don't have the right, uh, _equipment_ for you!"

Naruto blushed heavily. "Shut up Kiba."

Shikamaru took in the comments being made. It didn't take a genius like him to figure out Kiba was hinting that Naruto was gay. He felt joy bubble in his stomach, but just a little bit. 'Just because he's gay doesn't mean he would ever like me.' He glanced around. 'Look at these guys he hangs around with, it's obvious that they are attracted to him, who wouldn't be? Why would he ever choose me over them? They're beautiful!'

Kiba laughed at Naruto's expense, and glanced over at Shikamaru, he was surprised to see the young man looking at Naruto so longingly. 'What could that mean?' he wondered.

The waitress came back with their food and winked at Naruto. Naruto smiled back at her and thanked her for the food. They ate heartily, telling jokes, laughing, talking, and enthusing about the concert. Once they were done, the waitress came with their receipts, winking meaningfully at Naruto. "Come again!" she said.

Naruto looked at his receipt and laughed. "Look guys! She gave me her number!"

They made their way over to the concert hall and walked up to the ticket taker, presenting their tickets. "Naruto?" the ticket taker exclaimed. "Oh wow, it is you! I had no idea you were coming here!"

Naruto looked up into the dark eyes of Sai. "Sai! What's up man? I haven't seen you in a couple years!" he yelled back with excitement.

"Come on Naruto, the concert is starting!" Kiba said yanking on the blonde's arm.

Naruto grabbed a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something down. "Here is my new cell number, give me a call later so we can catch up, ok?" he said, handing it to Sai.

"Of course Naruto." Sai said, greedily taking the number and watching Naruto run into the concert hall.

_I see you lying next to me_

_With words I thought I would never speak_

_Awake and unafraid_

_Asleep or dead._

"That concert was amazing!" Naruto yelled, stretching his arms in the air happily.

"It was, wasn't it!" Kiba yelled before planting a kiss on Hinata. "I think we're going to head back." he told Naruto with a wink.

"Alright." Naruto laughed on the blush covering Hinata's face. "I'll catch you two later!" Naruto waved as they went off in the direction of Kiba's truck.

Naruto folded his hands behind his head as he started walking towards Gaara's car. "Hey, Shika, what did you think?"

Shikamaru looked up, surprised that Naruto addressed him instead of his friends. "Uh, it was pretty good actually, I normally don't like concerts." he admitted.

Up ahead, Gaara chuckled. It's true that at one time he had a huge crush on Naruto, but he got over it, and had decided it is now his mission to find true happiness for the adorable blonde. He listened to him talk to that new friend of his, and internally approved. He could see what was going on, even if those two didn't yet.

The four men filed into Gaara's car. Naruto sitting in the passenger seat this time, to avoid being squished. The ride was quiet since everyone was still tired from the concert. Gaara dropped Sasuke off first and then Shikamaru. Naruto was asleep in the car. 'Sigh, how am I going to get him home? God knows Jiraiya doesn't want people on his property; and there's no way to wake him up once he's like this. Maybe I should just take him to my place.' Decided, Gaara went past Jiraiya's place, and headed over to the Sabaku Mansion.

He pulled in the driveway and got out of his car. Opening the passenger door, he lifted Naruto and carried him bridal style into the large house.

"Gaara, welcome home! How was the concert?" His sister, Temari, asked. "Oh no. Naruto fell asleep in the car?"

"Yup" Gaara replied as he moved pass her and into his bedroom. Laying the blonde on the bed, he took off Naruto's shoes, shirt, and pants, leaving the adorable boy in only his boxers. He pulled the blankets over the boy and left to go get some water before joining him.

Walking back into the room, he shut the door and turned off the light. He stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed beside Naruto. "Goodnight." he whispered planting a soft kiss on the boy's forehead.

**Woo, that took a lot out of me! I know it's a bit fluffy on the Gaara side, but they will not be more than friends. I hope to read some reviews from all you readers! I love you all!**

**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

**speedykatze**

**gaudy**

**Kage-Shi-Neko**

**xdevil-childx**

**Chu 545**

**MoonWingsYuki**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or make any money from this fic.**

**Enjoy~!**

Naruto woke up, but refused to open his eyes. He was waaaay too comfortable to be moving quite yet. He was warm, and he felt like cuddling. 'Wait, cuddling?' He peaked open one eye to find himself in a familiar room with a pair of familiar pale arms around him. 'Gaara' He mentally relaxed and closed his eye again.

"I know you're awake." Gaara said suddenly, making Naruto jump.

Naruto playfully growled. "Hush Gaara, I'm trying to sleep!" The pair giggled.

"So, Naruto, tell me more about that Shikamaru guy!" Gaara said.

"What do you want to know?" Naruto asked, rather confused as to why Gaara would want to know about Shika.

"Whatever you feel like telling me. He didn't talk much at dinner or during the concert, but there had to be a reason you invited him." Gaara explained.

A heavy blush came over Naruto's face. "Oh, well, he's my math tutor."

"Why do you need a tutor?"

"God, I've explained this a million times…." Naruto sighed.

Gaara just laughed at him, "You don't have to tell me. I'm sure it will be an overcomplicated explanation that I won't be able to wrap my brain around anyway!"

They both laughed until Naruto had tears in his eyes. "So, Naruto, I really do want to know about Shikamaru. What do you think of him?"

"Why are you asking these questions?" Naruto asked, still blushing heavily.

"He seems like a good guy, that's all." Gaara said, staring at the ceiling.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Gaara! Are you attracted to Shika?" Naruto accused.

Gaara became flustered. "What? No! Of course not!"

"But, the way you said that…" Naruto said, slightly confused.

"What I meant was, he seems like a good guy…for _you_." Gaara said, lightly punching Naruto in the arm.

"I doubt he's even gay." Naruto said sadly.

"I think he likes you." Gaara stated simply.

"YOU REALLY THINK SO?" Naruto squealed jumping up, standing on the bed.

Gaara laughed. "You're such a girl sometimes Naru-_chan_!"

Naruto sat back down, pouting. "I am NOT a girl!"

Gaara chuckled and poked Naruto. "I know that Naru, I'm just saying you're acting like one, you know, with the squealing and all!"

Naruto huffed, "Yeah, well, I was happy. Geez! Is that so wrong?"

Gaara just laughed in response.

Suddenly there was a banging on Gaara's door, and Temari burst through it. "Naruto!" She had tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, there has been an accident!"

Naruto shot out of bed and looked out the window where he knew he could see his grandfather's house. There was smoke pouring out of the windows. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were lined up outside. He grabbed his clothes and hastily got dressed. And ran out the door, closely followed by Gaara.

He ran up to the property. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WHERE IS MY GRANDPA!" he was screaming at anything and anyone he could find. He got up to the police line and was running.

"You can't pass the line son!" an officer shouted at him.

"I live here!" Naruto was in tears at this point. The officer let him and Gaara through while they watched the house burn. Turing to one of the paramedics, Naruto asked the one question he was dreading the answer to. "Is my grandpa alright?"

The medic looked at the sad boy. "I'm so sorr-"

He was interrupted by screams of young men running to the scene. Kiba, Shino, and Sai were running from the dorms, Sasuke from his home, and Shikamaru from across the street.

"Dude, are you ok? We thought you were inside! Thank god you're ok!" Kiba was yelling, hugging the blonde.

"No I fell asleep on the way home, so Gaara just took me to his place." Naruto explained, pushing his friends aside. He made his way back to the paramedic. "Can I see my grandpa now?"

The medic was crying for the young man. "The firefighters didn't reach him in time. I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it."

Naruto was in shock. He just stood there, eyes wide, forgetting to breathe. Shikamaru was the first to the angel. He wrapped his arms around him comfortingly. The action brought Naruto back. He broke down, bawling and burying his head in Shikamaru's chest.

Gaara walked over and laid a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Come on, we need to get him out of here."

Shikamaru picked up the sobbing boy and carried him through the crowd. "Where should we take him?"

"He can stay with me." Gaara said, leading the way to his home. "He still has his own room and everything." Shikamaru's eyes held confusion. "I'll explain it later." Gaara told him. "Right now, we just need to get him away from here."

Shikamaru followed Gaara back to the mansion, Naruto still bawling in his arms. Once inside the door, a woman with blonde hair held in four ponytails and teal eyes ran up to him and began cooing over his blonde angel. Yes, that's right _his _blonde angel.

Shikamaru growled at the girl and looked over at Gaara, "Where is his room?"

Gaara nodded towards a hallway and started walking down it. Reaching the desired door, he pushed it open and motioned for Shikamaru to enter. Shikamaru laid Naruto on the bed in the room, climbing on next to the boy in order to hold him and allow the sad blonde boy to cry.

**Wow, ok, didn't expect that…AND I'M THE FUCKING WRITER! Anyway, Here is another chapter down. I just wanted to let you all know, I work in a church daycare, and VBS is starting tomorrow, so I might not be able to update as much as I normally do. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If anyone has any ideas for the story, I'm always open to suggestions! (and if you're not comfortable posting your ideas on the review board where everyone can read them, I check my pms multiple times a day)**

**I love you all, so PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo, this story is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release.**

**Enjoy~!**

Naruto awoke several hours later, finding it difficult to open his eyes. He had cried so much, that as the tears dried, they glued his eyelids together. Once he finally wrenched them open. 'What happened? He's not really dead, is he?' he thought to himself. Looking around he found himself to be in his room in the Sabaku mansion; he also found Shikamaru curled up on the other side of the bed. 'The only reason he would be here was if….if…' With that Naruto found his eyes attempting to well with tears again. He was too dehydrated to cry. He pulled himself to the edge of the bed, and forced himself to his feet. He wobbled a bit before finally finding the strength to walk to the door.

He walked down the hallway and into the kitchen to get some water. He felt weak in every sense of the term. He moved to stand in front of the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of water. He closed the door to find Temari on the other side.

"Naruto, how are you doing?" she asked, placing a hand on his back.

Naruto just stared at her, shock and anger contorted on his face. "How the hell do you think I'm doing?" he spat. He knocked her hand off of him and stalked down the hall back to his room while ripping of the cap of his water bottle and began chugging the water.

He slammed the door open, waking up Shikamaru, who shot up in the bed. Naruto looked over at him. "Sorry Shika."

"Hey, you have no need to apologize for anything, you've gone through something horrible. You need anything?" Shikamaru responded.

Naruto walked over and sat on the bed, looking down. He lifted the water bottle back to his mouth, throwing back his head and finished it off. He threw the empty bottle across the room, and continued to look at the floor, a sullen look in his eyes.

Shikamaru waited patiently, he couldn't imagine what Naruto was going through.

"I think I need some more sleep Shika." Naruto responded quietly.

"Ok Naruto." Shikamaru couldn't help but notice that this sullen demeanor didn't suit his blonde angel. The ever expressive blue eyes holding so much pain and anguish, it angered the young brunette. He watched as Naruto laid back down on the bed and turned towards him. "I'll let you sleep Naruto." Shikamaru started to get up off the bed, when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down to see a tanned hand holding it.

"Please don't leave. I don't want to be alone." Naruto whispered, eyes shut tight.

Tears welled in Shikamaru's eyes. "Of course I'll stay Naruto. Anything for you." He said, equally as quiet. He gently laid back down on the bed, facing Naruto. He grabbed a hold of the blonde's arm and dragged the body over, wrapping his arms around him. He gently rubbed the boys back and cooed him to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro sat in the living room of the large house. Kankuro was poking the fire, attempting to get it going again. Temari was silently crying on the couch. Gaara was just staring blankly at the wall. He couldn't believe that Jiraiya was dead. That man, as rude as he was, was so kind to him throughout the years.

For as long as he could remember, Naruto would come and spend summers with his grandfather. As small as the town was, there wasn't much for the rambunctious blonde to do, so he would run around and make as many friends as possible. Gaara and his siblings were among the honored. Gaara became vary close to Naruto, they spent every moment of their summers together. After Gaara's father had died, Jiraiya had told them that Gaara was as much his grandson as Naruto was. Temari was technically old enough to take care of them, but they always ran into problems. Jiraiya was always there to fix it. He helped them out as if they really were his family. When asked about his kindness, he would always respond, _"This is nothing but payment in kind. You three always took care of the dearest person in my life, so I will take care of you as well."_ Now, that man was gone. Gaara was determined to keep in the practice of taking care of his dearest person: Naruto.

The three were roused from their thoughts by the sound of a knock on the heavy front door. They all looked at each other curiously before finally, Kankuro went to open the door. The door was swung open to reveal two police officers. "What seems to be the problem officers?" Kankuro asked politely.

"Is this where Naruto Uzumaki is staying?" the first one asked.

Gaara rose from his seat and made his way over to the door. "Yes, it is." he answered. "But he is still in shock, it would be better if you could come back after he's had some more rest."

"We understand. Here is my card." the second one said, producing a business card from his belt. "Give us a call when a better time arises. However, some of the news we have is pressing, so if we don't hear back tomorrow, we will be by the next day."

"Understood officer." Gaara replied, taking the card. He scanned it as Kankuro shut the door. _Detective Kakashi Hatake. Arson Specialist._ 'God, did someone burn that house down?'

**Dum Dum Dum! I'm always open to ideas! I love putting fan ideas in my stories. I just need to find someone to give me some! Please review! I have no confidence in my writing skills, constructive criticism is always appreciated. See a mistake? Point it out for me, please! Also, I'd like to do a head count – If you actually read these author notes, please put "1234" at the end of your review!**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Nope, ownership hasn't changed since the last chapter…**

**Enjoy~!**

Naruto, as much as he felt he needed to, couldn't sleep at all. He just curled up in Shikamaru's arms, closed his eyes, and tried to enjoy the warms and comfort as he pretended to sleep. He knew that he needed to, but he didn't want to see his beloved grandfather's face in his dreams only to wake up and remember he could never see it in person again.

Shikamaru was being so great to him. They barely knew each other, but here he was, caring for him, making sure he was comfortable, and holding him tightly. 'I don't deserve this.' Naruto thought to himself. 'Shikamaru is too good to me. I'm sure there is some girl he'd rather be holding.'

Naruto lifted his head, breaking the illusion of sleep. He looked Shikamaru in the eyes. "Why are you still here?" he asked curiously. He couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

A deep red blush came over Shikamaru's face as he contemplated how to answer. 'Why am I still here? Am I really in love with him? I've come to accept that I like him, but that really doesn't answer the question adequately!' Shikamaru was slowly becoming lost in his own world.

Naruto stared at Shikamaru as a non-answer came up. "I knew it." he said under his breath.

"What?" Shikamaru snapped back to reality. "What was that?" he honestly didn't hear him.

"It's nothing Shikamaru. I think I need some time alone. Please leave." Naruto said curtly.

'Shikamaru? What happened to Shika?' the brunette wondered. "Are you sure? I can stay, really!"

"NO!" Naruto shouted, causing Shikamaru to flinch. Naruto stopped, eyes wide, before looking at the bed and half-whispering, "Please, just leave Shikamaru."

Shikamaru sadly nodded as he got up off the bed and walked out of the room, pausing at the door. "Call me. Any time of any day if you need me. If you need anything in fact." He walked out of the room, unshed tears welling in his eyes, and made his way out of the house without even saying goodbye to the Sabaku siblings, who didn't even notice him leaving.

He walked slowly back to his apartment. Going up the stairs and opening the door, he walked inside and slammed it shut, making Choji jump in the small kitchen.

"There you are man! I was getting worried!" Choji said, straining some pasta.

"I was with Naruto. That fire across the street, that's where he was living." Shikamaru said with a monotone voice.

Choji dropped the strainer. "Holy shit! Is he ok?"

"He had stayed the night at a friend's." he replied, shaking his head. "But his grandfather was home, and no, he didn't make it."

Choji's eyes grew wide. "Why the hell are you here? Shouldn't you be with Naruto still? No way in hell he's mentally ok!"

"He's still at a friend's. And I was staying with him, but he asked me to leave." Shikamaru moved his head backwards, banging it on the wall he was leaning on. "How troublesome."

Choji shook his head, picking his pasta back up. "What did you say to make him ask you to leave?"

"Why do you automatically assume it was something I said?" Choji just stared at Shikamaru. "Ok, point taken." he sighed. "I don't know what I said."

"Well what did he say right before he asked you to leave?"

"Um, he asked me why I was still there with him."

"And how did you answer?" Choji prompted.

"I didn't."

"Oh, come ON man!"

"I didn't know what to say!" Shikamaru said defensively. "It's not like I could just say 'because I might love you!' now could I!"

"YES! That's exactly what you should've said! He probably likes you! He didn't want to hurt anymore than he wanted to, so he didn't want comfort from someone who didn't like him back!" Choji yelled at his roommate and best friend.

Shikamaru just stared wide-eyed at his friend. "Dude, when did you get so damn smart?"

Choji chuckled lightly, taking the sauce off the burner. "I have my moments." He poured the sauce over the pasta he had laid on a plate. "I'd say sleep it off, and go back in the morning to talk to him."

"Sounds like a good plan." Shikamaru entered the kitchen to find something for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back At The Sabaku Mansion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara decided that it was time to call Detective Hatake back. He got up and walked over to Naruto's room. He lightly knocked on the door. "Naruto?" he called before opening he door. He found a wide awake Naruto lying on the bed. "Hey Naruto, a couple officers came by earlier, they asked me to call them back when you were awake so they could talk to you. Is that ok? Are you up for talking to them?" he asked gently.

"Whatever." Naruto said.

"Alright. Why don't you come out to the living room?" Gaara grabbed Naruto's arm and helped him up and led him to the living room. Temari took over from there while Gaara went into the kitchen to dial the phone.

It rang a couple times. _"Detective Hatake."_

"Hello there Detective. My name is Gaara, you came to my home earlier to talk with Naruto Uzumaki earlier."

"_Oh yes, I remember."_

"I believe he's calmed down enough to talk to you if you'd like."

"_Alright, we'll be over in about five minutes."_

"We'll be here." Gaara said before the line went dead.

Gaara opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water for Naruto before making his way back out to the living room. "They'll be here really soon." he announced. He walked over and sat next to Naruto handing him the water bottle.

Naruto took the bottle graciously and opened it, taking a big gulp. Placing the lid back on they all heard a knock on the door. He watched as Kankuro got up and answered it, leading the officers inside.

They came to Naruto, who rose and shook the man's hand. "You must be Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde nodded. "I'm Detective Kakashi Hatake and this is my partner Detective Iruka Umino. We're here to talk about the fire at your grandfather's home."

Naruto nodded in understanding, taking a seat back on the couch.

The detective went on. "We want to talk about the circumstances of the fire."

Naruto just stared at the floor, "Let me guess, you want to tell me it was an electrical anomaly and there was nothing anyone could've done to prevent it."

"Actually, no, we're here to tell you that the house was burnt down intentionally."

**Hooray! More information that you already figured out on your own! Don't you just LOVE filler? Yeah, I know, it sucks, but I needed it to be a solid stepping stone to the next section. Sorry, don't kill me! Please review!**

**Also, my "Author Note Reader Head Count" has not concluded, please type "1234" at the end of your review if you actually read these notes!  
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**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, trust me, you'd all know by now.**

**Just so you know, I won't be offended if you don't read through all the police statements, but you may want to at least skim them.**

**Enjoy~! **

"Actually, no, we're here to tell you that the house was burned down intentionally."

Naruto's eyes went wide with shock. "WHAT THE FUCK!" he screamed, grasping his hair in his hands and shaking his head. He stopped suddenly and looked up at the detective. "What happened?"

"Well that's what we're trying to figure out. The flames had an origin near one of the front windows and we found the remnants of a beer bottle. We believe it was a Molotov Cocktail thrown through the window. Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt you or yourself?"

"Wait, me?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Yes, you were also staying in that house. If someone was trying to hurt you and didn't know you were staying at a friend's house, that's where they would have targeted." Detective Hatake stated.

Naruto stared at the floor again. "No."

Kakashi pulled another business card out, as did Iruka. "If you remember anything, don't hesitate to call anytime of the day, ok?"

Naruto took both the cards, looking them over, "Sure." And with that reassurance, the detectives left.

Naruto took another swig from his water bottle before silently getting up and heading back to his room. He shut the door behind him and laid down on the bed, trying to think of any enemies that would do this heinous act.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With The Detectives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iruka looked over at his partner. "You don't really think it was one of the kid's enemies, do you Kakashi? I mean, this seems to be a domestic thing. It's common knowledge that Jiraiya was unliked by everyone in this town!"

"Iruka, what I think at this point doesn't matter, what we need right now is to get statements from everyone in the area. Then we can look over the facts and decided what course of action to take." Kakashi responded mechanically, getting inside his car and waiting for Iruka to join him. He stuck the key in the ignition and revved the engine to life.

"I guess you're right. That kid just seems too sweet to develop an enemy that wants to kill him." Iruka's eyes looked sad.

"I know what you mean." Kakashi sighed. "But we really can't rule anything out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later That Night – At The Police Station ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakashi and Iruka sat in the conference room, papers scattered all across the table. A large map of the town was pinned to a board on the wall, and pictures were strewn across the room.

Currently the two were looking over statements, trying to find a hole. Iruka was looking over neighbors that hated the old man, continuing to believe that Naruto was not the one with an enemy. However, Kakashi was almost certain of the opposite.

Kiba Inuzuka

_RELATIONSHIP TO DECEASED: best friend of grandson_

_WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT: A group of us went to a concert downtown. We hit dinner on Court and then the concert. Uh, we left at around 1:00am. I drove separately with my girlfriend. We arrived at her house around 1:25am where I staid the night._

_WHO CAN CORROBORATE YOUR STORY: Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara Sabaku, Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Huuga, and Sasuke Uchiha_

_CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM THE DECEASED: Naw, dude was a good guy, he was a bit harsh about his property, but other than that, he was a harmless old man._

Gaara Sabaku

_RELATIONSHIP TO DECEASED: close friend of grandson, and neighbor._

_WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT: A group of us met at around 7:00pm to go downtown to have dinner and see a My Chemical Romance concert. Concert ended around 1:00am, and we left. I was driving and I dropped Sasuke off first at his home at around 1:25am, followed by Shikamaru a few minutes later. I paused outside of Naruto/Jiraiya's home, but Naruto was fully asleep by this time. It was about 1:30am. I decided it would be easier if I just took him to my place rather than try to figure out that crazy security system. We arrived at my home at about 1:35am._

_WHO CAN CORROBORATE YOUR STORY: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Huuga, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, and my sister (Temari Sabaku) was awake and greeted us when I got home._

_CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM THE DECEASED: No, Jiraiya was harsh about people touching his stuff, but he was a generous man. As for Naruto, no one would want to hurt him, he is one of the most kind caring people you will ever met._

Shikamaru Nara

_RELATIONSHIP TO DECEASED: friend/tutor of grandson_

_WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT: Um, well, Naruto invited me to a concert, so I met with him and some friends around 7:00pm. Gaara Sabaku dropped me off at my apartment at about 1:30am._

_WHO CAN CORROBORATE YOUR STORY: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Huuga, Gaara Sabaku, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha_

_CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM THE DECEASED: I've only known Naruto for a few days, so no, I can't think of anyone._

Hinata Huuga

_RELATIONSHIP TO DECEASED: girlfriend of grandson's best friend_

_WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT: Kiba dragged me to a concert last night, he stayed at my home. We got home around 1:30am._

_WHO CAN CORROBORATE YOUR STORY: Kiba Inuzuka, Gaara Sabaku, Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki_

_CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM THE DECEASED: I didn't know him well enough to say._

Sasuke Uchiha

_RELATIONSHIP TO DECEASED: friend of grandson_

_WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT: I was out with Naruto and a group of other people at a My Chemical Romance concert in the city. We left at around 7:00pm so we could catch dinner on Court Ave. and then hit the concert at 9:30pm. We left the concert at 1:00am. Gaara Sabaku was driving and he dropped me off at my home at about 1:25am. I went straight to bed._

_WHO CAN CORROBORATE YOUR STORY: Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara Sabaku, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Huuga._

_CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM THE DECEASED: No, but I can think of someone who would hurt his grandson! Sakura Haruno._

'Sakura Haruno? We'll have to go and get her statement as well.' Kakashi thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Next Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakashi and Iruka parked their police car in the campus lot of the local university. Getting out, they headed for the main building to find out where to locate the girl in question.

"Hi, My name is Detective Hatake, and this is my partner Detective Umino," Kakashi said as they both presented their badges. "We're looking for Sakura Haruno, do you know where I might find her?"

The woman behind the desk looked flustered as she frantically typed information into her computer, looking for the correct files. "Well, it looks like she is in her General Psychology class. It will be over in about 10 minutes."

"Thank you, what room is it?"

"Room 205, second floor."

"Thank you, you have been very helpful." The two officers exited the office and made their way up the stairs to the second floor to locate the classroom. They stood outside the door and waited for class to be over.

Soon, they saw the students pack up their belongings and get out of their chairs. The detectives stopped the first student out the door. "Excuse me, we're looking for Sakura Haruno." The student looked behind him and pointed at a girl with bubblegum pink hair. "Thank you."

The pair walked up to the girl. "Miss, are you Sakura Haruno?"

"Who wants to know?" the pinkette said snottily.

Producing their badges, they responded, "We are detectives investigating the fire near here. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

**Ok, my fingers hurt now. Sorry to all you Sakura fans out there, but I hate her. I know it's probably a bit irrational, but I really think she should just stop existing. She is generally useless and annoying…But enough about her. I hope you are enjoying this story so far! Please give me some reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep doing this? I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**Enjoy~!**

Sakura Haruno sat in a police station interrogation room, alone, awaiting the detectives to come and ask their questions. She was starting to get nervous. She had been here for what felt like hours, but in all actuality was more like 45 minutes. 'Why do they want to talk to me?' she wondered to herself.

She was starting to drift off to sleep when suddenly the door banged open. She snapped her head up in surprise. "You seem awfully jumpy." said Detective Hatake.

"No, you just surprised me is all." he responded, putting her hand on her chest as if to calm her heart.

"mmhmm" was all the response Kakashi gave her.

Detective Umino approached her, "Do you know Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Uh, I know of him. He's a friend of my boyfriend." she stated.

"And who is your boyfriend?" Iruka asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha." she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The two detectives exchanged looks. "Is there any reason you would want to hurt Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Oh no, my boyfriend is very fond of that boy. He'd be angry if I hurt him." she said, playing with a lock of her hair.

A look came over Kakashi's face, as if a light bulb went off in his head. "Where were you last night?"

"In my dorm room."

"Can anyone validate that?" Iruka asked.

"I was alone, if that's what you're asking." she said curtly.

"We have reports that says Sasuke Uchiha was at a concert last night. Why weren't you there?" Kakashi asked, a sly look on his face.

"That fucker Naruto didn't have enough tickets." she said harshly under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Kakashi said, even though he did hear her perfectly well.

Sakura smiled, "I said that there weren't enough tickets."

Iruka looked curiously at her. "What was that about Naruto though?"

"Oh, well, he's the one who invited Sasuke."

"Ok, you can go now, Miss Haruno." Kakashi said.

An officer came in to escort her out. Once she was gone, Iruka turned to Kakashi. "Why would Uchiha say his girlfriend wanted to hurt Naruto? You would think that if they were dating, he would want to try and protect her, not bring attention to her."

"That was exactly my thoughts, Iruka." Kakashi thought for a moment. "Let's bring Uchiha back in."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke sat in the interrogation room at a hard metal table. "Detective, why have you called me back in here?"

Iruka looked at him, "We wanted to talk about your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend?" Sasuke said incredulously. "I don't have a girlfriend, I'm gay!"

Kakashi spit out the coffee he was drinking. "Then why was Sakura Haruno claiming that you were her boyfriend?"

"Because she's fucking insane! She thinks that we're together! She follows me around, asking me when I'm going to take her on a real date!" he half-yelled, shaking his head.

"It says here in your statement that you thought Sakura would hurt Naruto Uzumaki, why is that?" Kakashi asked, holding a folder open.

"That stems from an incident that occurred a couple days ago."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke was walking to the parking lot to get to his car. He lived off campus and was done with class and just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"SASUKE~!" an annoying feminine voice called. "SASUKE WAIT FOR ME!" A woman with bubblegum pink hair and faded green eyes came running up to the raven.

He internally sighed. "What the hell do you want Sakura?"

"I was just wondering when you're going to finally take me on a _real_ date!" she said, batting her eyelashes.

"For the last time Sakura, I'm not your boyfriend, nor will I ever be! I'm in love with somebody else!" He yelled in her face. "Get away from me you stalker!"

"But, Sasuke, I thought we had something special! Who is it that you're in love with that is so much better than me? I can change you know!"

"Trust me, you can't change enough to be like Naruto."

"Naruto? But…But….YOU'RE NOT GAY! YOU CAN'T BE!" The woman started to bawl and collapsed to her knees.

Sasuke, just shook his head at the pathetic image and got in his car to drive away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The name just kinda slipped out! I should've known she'd go after him! She's a fucking psychopath!" Sasuke was nearly pulling out his hair and had tears streaming down his cheeks.

At that moment, the detectives knew exactly what they had to do. The sent Sasuke home and ordered an officer to bring Sakura back in and another officer to bring in Naruto.

An officer showed up about 30 minutes later with the girl and escorted her into the interrogation room. The detectives were still there from questioning Sasuke. The other officer led Naruto to another interrogation room to wait.

"Hello again Detectives! It's nice to see you again!" she said politely, sitting her down.

Kakashi nodded in her direction and Iruka sat on the edge of the table to ask her a question. "Tell us again, Sasuke Uchiha is your boyfriend, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"So then why did he tell us he was gay?" Kakashi calmly asked.

Sakura's eyes hardened, "I believe you are mistaken." she replied through gritted teeth.

"He also told us that he's in love with Naruto Uzumaki." Kakashi said, playing with a pencil, not looking at the woman.

Iruka however was looking at her, and watched as her mask began to break and pure anger gleamed on her face. "NO!" she shouted. "YOU'RE WRONG! HE DOES NOT LOVE THAT FUCKER! HE IS JUST FUCKING CONFUSED!" she began to cry. "It's all Naruto's fault Sasuke doesn't love me! That blonde fucker wormed his way into my beautiful Sasuke's heart, and now there's no room for me! If Sasuke is gay, it's Naruto's fault!" She was crying from pure rage.

At that moment, the door opened, and an officer was ushering Naruto in. Sakura lunged at him and slammed him to the ground. He put up his arms to guard his face instinctually as she tried to scratch his eyes out. "YOU FUCKING TOOK SASUKE FROM ME! YOU ARE NOTHING! YOU ARE A PIECE OF SHIT! NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU!" she was screaming, and the detectives were desperately trying to wrench her off of the boy. Kakashi slapped his handcuffs off her and began reading off her Miranda Rights, leading her down the hall to a holding cell.

Meanwhile, Iruka was helping Naruto up while an officer got a first aid kit. Iruka started to bandage the couple cuts Sakura managed to give Naruto. "We're sorry we allowed that to happen to you, we honestly didn't think she'd go so far. We just needed to see her reaction to you." Naruto just stared at the detective, Sakura's words ringing in his head. "You want to know what happened?" Naruto simply nodded. "Alright then, apparently Sasuke had been getting stalked by her, and in an attempt to get rid of her, he told her he was in love with you. Something in her brain snapped and she thought that if she got rid of you, Sasuke would be free to love her. She didn't know that you were staying at Gaara's house that night."

Naruto looked up at the detective, "So it's my fault that my grandpa is dead?" Fresh tears spilled out of his eyes.

Iruka hugged the young man, "No, no, Sakura is mentally disturbed, this is no one's fault!" Naruto just cried. After a few moments he calmed down and pushed away from the detective. He started to walk away, out of the precinct. "Naruto," Iruka called after him, "remember, none of this is your fault." Iruka sighed as he watched Naruto walk out, completely silent.

**Woo, when this fic started, who would've guessed that I'd have Sakura burn down Naruto's house in a sociopathic rage? Anyone? Haha, doubtful…**

**Please review!**

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******Kitsune Forever****  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto declined my offer of $5 (all I have to my name), therefore, I am still Naruto-less….**

**Enjoy~!**

Shikamaru woke up. He knew that Choji had told him to go back the next day, but he hadn't worked up the courage yet. However, today was the day! He just knew it! He pulled himself out of bed and went to take a shower. After the nice warm shower, he got out, picked out the perfect outfit (yes, it contained orange!) and dried his hair. He walked down the hall and entered the kitchen to find Choji.

"Dude, what's with the orange?" Choji laughed.

"It's Naruto's favorite color." Shikamaru said, walking around to get a bowl of cereal.

"So, you're finally going to go talk to him, huh?"

"Yeah, I finally have the courage to."

"And what are you going to say to him?" Choji asked, genuinely curious.

"I'm going to tell him exactly how I feel." Shikamaru said, a small smile adorning his face.

Choji smiled at his best friend, glad that he was going to find some happiness.

Shikamaru finished his cereal, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He pulled on this shoes, grabbed his keys and his wallet, and began making the trek to the Sabaku mansion.

After making it to the front door, he knocked a couple times and waited. His nerves building with each passing second. Finally, the door was answered by Gaara.

When Gaara saw who was standing on his doorstep, he cracked a huge grin. "Why, hello Shikamaru! Naruto's at the police station, buy you're welcome to wait for him to come back."

"Thank you Gaara." Shikamaru said, stepping inside and sliding off his shoes. Suddenly, a thought hit him. "Why is Naruto at the police station?"

Gaara looked at him confused. "You didn't hear? The fire at Jiraiya's was no accident, it was arson. A Molotov cocktail to be exact."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Wow, really?"

"Yeah." Gaara confirmed, leading Shikamaru to the living room to wait for Naruto. Gesturing towards the couch Gaara asked Shikamaru to sit down, and he complied. "So, Shikamaru, I want to talk about your intentions towards Naruto."

Shikamaru did a double-take. "My intentions?"

"Yes, are you planning to enter into a relationship with him? Or are you just trying to get in his pants? Because either way, just know, the Sabaku family is a powerful one, and you hurt Naruto, you will find yourself in Hell." Gaara's gaze had darkened significantly.

Shikamaru felt fear creeping over him. Was this really the fun guy from the concert the other night? "Uh, I plan on entering a relationship." he said rather dumbly.

"Good." Gaara's face lit back into a kind smile. (bipolar much?) "I like you Shikamaru, I hope you two are very happy."

Shikamaru's brain started to catch up with the fear and soaked up all the words. "Hold on, isn't this the type of conversation I should hold with his parents?" he asked.

Gaara's face fell into one of sadness. "Well, normally, yes. But, considering his parents are dead, you are stuck with me."

"His parents are dead?" Shikamaru was shocked. Naruto always seemed so happy!

"Yes, they died when he was a baby. They sent him to live with his grandfather, but he was in no condition to care for a baby, so he was sent to foster care. He has lived in numerous homes, not all of them good, but no matter where he lived, he always stayed with his grandfather during the summer." Gaara said, a sentimental smile settling over his face towards the end of the speech. "It's really not my place to tell you about his past though. If you'd like to learn more, you should really talk to him!"

"Yeah." Shikamaru was imputing all this new information. It all seemed crazy to him. "When is he supposed to be back anyway?" he asked Gaara.

"Uh, the officer that picked him up didn't say." Gaara looked out the window. "Oh look, it started to rain."

* * *

><p>Naruto had gotten a ride from an officer, and was dropped off outside the Sabaku Mansion. He was still in a bit of a daze from the Sakura attack. After the officer drove off, he sat down on the steps out front, not even noticing that it was starting to rain. After a bit, the light rain turned into a downpour, and Naruto still didn't move.<p>

After a while, he felt the urge to move, but he didn't want to go inside that house where everyone would coo over him. He didn't deserve it. He decided to go for a walk instead.

Naruto stumbled down the street in the pouring rain, until he came upon the charred ruins of his grandfather's home. He walked up to it, lifting the police tape out of the way. He made his way up to the burnt porch, not caring that it could buckle under his weight. He went through what was once a doorway, and wondered around.

Once he reached the remains of his grandfather's room, he sat down and leaned against what remained of one of the walls. 'Look at all of this! All of this destruction!' He looked down, and realized he was sitting where his grandfather died. 'This is all my fault! My grandfather built this house with his own two hands! And now, now it's all gone. The house, and his life….and it's…it's all…because of….'

"me" he whispered to the charred hunks of wood. He began to sob again, uncontrollably. Tears ran from his eyes in rivers. He couldn't calm himself down enough to breathe. "WHY?" he screamed to the heavens. "Why did he have to die? Because someone was jealous of me? Why would anyone be jealous enough of me to kill my grandfather and burn down my house? I AM NOTHING!" he was talking to the air, to anything and everything, searching for an answer. "And now," he whispered, "I have lost the only person who loved me."

His tears finally slowed, and he lifted himself up and moved to the remnants of the kitchen. He was kicking the rubble around, when he came across a charred knife. Apparently, the flames were not hot enough to melt the metal blades. He reached down and picked it up, running his finger along the edge. A small cut appeared on his finger. He brought it to his mouth. 'Yup, still sharp.'

Keeping his grasp on the dirty blade, he made his way back to his spot in what was left of Jiraiya's room. Naruto sat back down and stared at the blade. "Maybe Sakura had a point." he said to the blade. "Maybe it's better if I just leave all this behind so I don't interfere with anyone's lives again! Maybe if I send myself to Hell, everyone could be happy! No one would have to worry about my feelings, or making sure I'm comfortable. No one would have to house me, or feed me. I wouldn't get in the way of other people's happiness!"

He lifted the blade, letting the rain run down it, cleaning off the charred bits. Lowering it back to his lap, he began to speak to it again. "I am nothing." he whispered, as if telling the blade a secret. Tears ran down his face, mingling with the rain. "I am nothing and no one could ever love me. All I do is make trouble!"

Naruto lifted the knife once more, placing the tip near his wrist. "I am nothing." he spoke softly as the blade entered his arm, slicing deep from wrist to elbow in one swift motion. He switched hands. Placing the tip on his other wrist. "I am NOTHING!" he screamed while using one swift motion to slice from wrist to elbow again. He dropped the blade and laid down on the floor, crying harder than ever. "I am nothing…"

***hides under table* please don't hurt me!  
><strong>

**Wow, you have no idea how hard this was to write! I had to stop because thinking like this made me cry so damn hard….I hope it was worth it!**

**Please review!**

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******Kitsune Forever****  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Do you really think I own Naruto? I mean seriously people! If you know anything about these characters, you'd know that Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and I am obviously not him…**

**Enjoy~!**

Shikamaru and Gaara sat in the living room of the Sabaku mansion, awaiting Naruto's return. All Gaara wanted was to see his little blonde friend be happy, and he knew that Shikamaru was just the man to make that happen. Gaara looked over at the brunette. He was very fidgety. He watched as Shikamaru got up and began pacing.

Shikamaru was becoming very nervous! 'What if he doesn't like me back? What if he thinks I'm a freak? What if he never thought of me as a friend in the first place? What if…NO I need to stop this, nothing can be certain until I actually talk to him!'

He walked over to the window. 'Maybe the rain will take my mind off him.' He looked out, noticed he could see the remnants of Jiraiya's house. There was just so much damage. He was in awe. That's when he saw it, a headful of blonde hair sitting in the charred house. "Hey Gaara, isn't that Naruto?"

Gaara stood and walked over to the window and looked out. "I think so! What's he doing out there? He'll catch a cold!"

All of a sudden, Shikamaru caught the glint of a blade. He bolted out of the door, leaving Gaara behind.

"…NOTHING" Shikamaru could hear Naruto's voice as he ran as hard as he could. He reached the boy just as he hit the ground. "I am nothing…" he barely heard the whisper coming from the boy. Shikamaru leaned over him, making his face the last thing Naruto saw before he passed out.

"NO NARUTO!" Shikamaru screamed, holding the boy's body. "You can't go yet! I never got to tell you!" Shikamaru was sobbing at this point. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" he was calling so loud, it had to be heard by someone! He turned his head and noticed Gaara running from the house. "GAARA, STOP! GO BACK INSIDE AND CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE!" he screamed at the redhead.

Gaara did as he was told. He ran inside, picked up the nearest phone, and dialed 911. He gave the operator the address and hung up the phone so he could run back outside. Upon reaching the body, sirens could already be heard. He took note of the way Shikamaru held the lithe body. Then he saw Naruto's arms. 'Oh God Naruto. What have you done?' Gaara was in tears long before the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics began wrapping his arms immediately. They loaded the still body onto a stretcher and once inside the car, they hooked him up to a saline drip. They allowed both Gaara and Shikamaru to ride with him. The entire ride, Shikamaru never let go of Naruto's hand. "I love you Naruto." he whispered under his breath. "I love you more than you could ever know."

The ambulance arrived at the hospital not a moment too soon. Pulled Naruto out and transferred him onto a cart to be wheeled through the hospital. "You will have to stay in the waiting room, he's headed directly to surgery." said one of the paramedics to the young men. He looked at them, "Do either of you know his blood type? Is he allergic to any medications?"

"He's B-, and no, he's not allergic to medications." Gaara told the medic.

"Thank you." The medic rushed off to join the others and pass on the valuable information.

The two boys sat in the waiting room, impatiently. Shikamaru was attempting to pass the time by pacing and crying silently. Gaara, on the other hand, was calling everyone, telling them what was going on, what hospital, etc. He didn't know if this is what Naruto would want, but he couldn't handle just sitting there, doing nothing!

After about an hour, a surgeon came out, he lowered his mask. "He's stable; we had to push several units of blood. One more minute, and he wouldn't have made it! Now, it looks like a suicide attempt. So, after he wakes up he will have to be on a 48 hour suicide watch as an inpatient. He also had to have several stitches on his arm. He managed to slice really deep. He will be on some heavy antibiotics for the infection in both wounds. I would recommend you get him some help when you take him home." The surgeon walked away to go and clean up. He was covered in Naruto's blood.

Shikamaru looked over at Gaara. "What led him to this?"

"I'm not completely sure. I mean, I knew he was sad about Jiraiya, but this is a bit much! What could have set him off this badly?" Gaara collapsed in a seat, not realizing that he had stood when the doctor came out.

Shikamaru walked up the nurse's station. "Excuse me. I'm here with Naruto Uzumaki. When can I see him?"

"Are you family?" the nurse asked coldly.

"No, bu-"

"Then you have to wait until he wakes up."

Shikamaru sat down, defeated. He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. He stared at the floor. "Goddamnit! If he only knew how loved he really is!"

Gaara looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Just before he passed out, he said 'I am nothing'. Goddamnit! Just the idea of him thinking that pisses me off! Where would he get something like that?" Pure anger coursed through Shikamaru's veins.

Gaara shifted his gaze from the angry form of Shikamaru to the floor. 'Naruto, why would you do this? How could you not know how much we all love you?'

**See! He's going to be ok! Don't kill me! Oh, and so you all know, I was very disappointed in my reviews...  
><strong>

**Please review! **

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><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: nope, still don't own it…**

**Enjoy~!**

Naruto felt himself stir. 'Am I dead?' He cracked one eye open. White walls, white ceiling, tubes, white sheets, uncomfortable bed, open-backed gown. 'Damnit, I'm in the hospital. That means I survived.'

Naruto attempted to lift himself up off the bed, but winced so violently the second weight was put on his arms, he fell. 'Oh, that's right, my arms are sliced open.' He looked down to see blood-soaked bandages. 'I must have ripped my stitches.' He just stared at the stain spread across the bandage covering his arm.

A nurse walked in, a male one. "Naruto, you're finally awake!" said a familiar voice. "OH GOD, YOU RIPPED YOUR STITCHES!" the voice became agitated.

Naruto looked up to see Sai, in scrubs no less. "Damnit Sai, how many jobs do you have?"

"Well, I'm doing my rounds for my nursing degree right now, the concert hall is my only job." Sai replied while gathering the necessary items to fix Naruto's stitches and redo the bandages. "Naruto, I have you ask you, what the hell were you thinking? When I saw you at the concert, everything seemed to be fine!" Sai had pulled on a pair of gloves and pulled out a needle and looped the medical thread through it.

Naruto remained silent as Sai peeled the soiled bandages off his arms and disposed of them. Sai watched as Naruto almost seemed to fall into a trance while watching the blood ooze from the broken stitches. "Naruto?"

"What Sai." he answered, never looking up from the blood.

Sai sighed and pulled out an alcohol swab and washed the area on Naruto's first arm. He grabbed the sterile needle and placed it at the edge of the long wound. Naruto watched as the needle entered his skin, fascinated by the fact that in order to fix a puncture in the skin, they had to make more punctures in it.

Once Sai had completed the length, he placed the needle in the biohazard bin. He grabbed another swab to clean the wound again and rewrapped it with bandages. He leaned down to gently kiss the bandage, before looking up at Naruto who had a bewildered look on his face.

"I saw a mother do this to a child, she said it was magic that would make it feel better." Sai said, a light blush covering his pale face.

Naruto simply grunted and presented his other arm to Sai. "So when can I get out of here? I hate hospitals."

Sai took Naruto's arm and began to peel the bandage off. "You attempted to kill yourself, you are on a 48 hour suicide watch." He disposed of the bandage and threaded a new sterile needle.

"Why 48 hours?" Naruto asked, thinking it to be a random number.

Sai began stitching the second arm. "Studies show that after a failed suicide attempt, patients are likely to try again in the next 48 hours." Sai finished stitching, disposed of the needle and cleaned the wound again.

"Really? They aren't going to just stick me in a psych ward?" Naruto asked, his eyes growing wide in surprise.

Sai grabbed some new bandages and wrapped Naruto's arm. He leaned down to lightly kiss that one as well before standing and disposing of his gloves. Sai turned and looked at Naruto seriously. "Do you feel the need to be in a psych ward? We can arrange that if you would like."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I just thought they would do it against my will." He said, looking at the wall.

"Well, they will probably send you to a psychotherapist, and if that person feels you need inpatient care, then you will be sent." Sai stated. "I've got more rounds to make, but I'll come back and check on you in a bit, ok?" Sai turned and started heading for the door.

"Sai?" Naruto said softly.

Sai whipped around at hearing his name said so intimately by the blonde.

"Has anyone come to see me? You know, while I was unconscious?" Naruto asked, eyes glued to the bedspread.

Sai's eyes filled with tears which he fought to keep inside. "Naruto, you weren't allowed visitors while you were unconscious. But there has been several people coming in to try, and one person who never left."

Naruto's head shot up. "WHO?" he yelled.

The sheer volume of hope that filled Naruto's eyes had Sai jealous. "A boy named Shikamaru." he said curtly.

Naruto's face lit up, and immediately saddened. Sai was intrigued by this. "Do you want me to tell him you're awake?"

Naruto laid back in the bed, silent, and turned away from Sai.

"Naruto?"

No answer.

Sai left the room, deeply saddened by Naruto's reaction. He walked out to his next patient, and found he had to pass the waiting room to get there. He saw Shikamaru sitting there pathetically, and made a decision. Walking up to the brunette, he looked him in the eye and told him. "Naruto is awake, you can see him now."

Shikamaru bolted out of the chair. "Where do I go?" he asked frantically, eyes wide.

"Room 111, just down the hall." Sai pointed in the correct direction.

Shikamaru took off running, stopping only when he saw the room number 111. He put his hand on the handle, and stopped; took a few deep breaths before finally pushing the door open. He saw Naruto, lying on his side, facing away from the door. "Naruto?" he probed quietly, thinking he might've fallen back asleep.

Naruto's lithe body shifted as he turned over, "Shika?" he inquired groggily. "Why are you here?"

Shikamaru laughed. This was the perfect chance, the words were getting caught in his throat. 'Maybe if I lead into it.' he thought. "Why did you do this to yourself Naruto?"

Naruto sat up. "Why?" he asked incredulously. "Why the hell do you think? My grandfather is dead and it's all my fault!"

Shikamaru had heard the story from the police about Sakura. "It was not your fault! Sakura is a sociopath! You can't take blame for her going crazy!" Shikamaru all but yelled at the blonde.

"She was jealous of nothing, therefore my grandfather died for nothing."

"What do you mean she was jealous of nothing?"

"I AM NOTHING! DON'T YOU GET IT? No one could possibly love me!" Naruto's voice steadily got quieter. "I am nothing." he whispered. Shikamaru watched as Naruto looked up at him, and that's when he saw it. Naruto's eyes were completely dead. They held no life. Tears spilled out of Shikamaru's eyes, and Naruto saw it. "Why are you crying?"

"Because you have no idea how much I love you! How much my heart aches when I see you like this. There are so many people that love and care about you, and you are so unaware!" Shikamaru collapsed to the floor. "You are not nothing, Naruto! You are everything! You are the most incredible person I've ever met!"

Naruto's face morphed into one of shock. Looking down at the bed, Naruto whispered so softly, that Shikamaru almost didn't catch it. "Say it again."

"You are not nothing, Naruto."

"No, not that part. The part where you said you loved me."

A smile overtook Shikamaru's face as he picked himself off the floor and walked over to the blonde angel. He wrapped his arms around Naruto and whispered in his ear. "I love you Naruto."

Naruto broke down in tears, for once, they were tears of joy. "I'm so happy to hear you say that Shika." Naruto looked over at Shikamaru, allowing their lips to connect.

"ahem" came a sound from the door. Both young men looked over to see Gaara standing in the doorway. The pair giggled.

"I got a call that you were awake Naruto, and I was going to come here and tell you how much we all care for you, but I see now that I was beaten to the punch." Gaara said, eyeing Shikamaru approvingly.

Naruto laughed. "It's still nice to hear." Naruto kissed Shikamaru lightly before turning back to Gaara, beckoning him over. The two friends embraced, Gaara being mindful of Naruto's sore arms. Naruto sighed contentedly.

'Maybe there is something to live for.' He looked at the two before him. In his heart, he knew there were more. Kiba, Sasuke, Temari, Kankuro, hell even Hinata. 'There really are people to love and care about me. I am not nothing. I am loved.'

***sigh of relief* Can you believe I got this done so fast? I really wanted to get it done before VBS started so it didn't seem like I abandoned you all. And look! I did it! I just realized that I use this hospital scene waaaaaay too much…..Oh well, it's one of my favorite plot clichés! I hope you enjoyed this story, and I'd love to hear final comments, so please review!**

**I would like to say thank you to my supporters!**

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><strong>


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